To: Harris County Commissioners Court
Through: Dave Lewis, Director, Veteran Services Department
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Prepared By: Jason Williams, Deputy Director, Veteran Services Department
Subject: New Position Request & Grant Award
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Project ID (If applicable]:
Purpose and Request:
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Request by Veterans Services for authorization to accept from the Texas Veterans Commission grant funds in the amount of $300,000, with no required match, accept a position transferred from Community Services, and approval of a position effective July 3, 2021 for the FY 2021-22 Veterans Assistance Program.
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Background and Discussion:
On August 27, 2019, Harris County Commissioners Court approved the recommendations of a Veteran advisory group, which included an increase in budget to grow staff, improve the functionality and effectiveness to better serve the 200,000+ Veterans and their families in Harris County.
In continuing to reorganize the Veteran Services Department moving forward, we will accept control of the TVC Grant from CSD on July 1, 2021. In this new chapter, we will transfer one employee from CSD with the grant; however, the other grant employee will stay with CSD. Therefore, we respectfully request approval to create a new Clerk II position in support of the TVC Grant, which supports two full-time positions. This move will help continue our efforts in building a first-class Veteran Services Department to serve Harris County Veterans and families.
[INSTRUCTIONS: In this section should concisely provide any background and analysis that the Commissioners Court needs to fully understand the action being requested. Please limit background to 3-4 sentences and include any reference to when this item was previously considered by Court. Background should include reference to study or order that led to this item or if the item is a result of compliance with any specific law or statutory requirements.]
Fiscal Impact:
The TVC Grant supports the cost of two full-time employees in carrying out the functions of the grant.
[INSTRUCTIONS: A short description of the cost of the request and where you are requesting funding from. No more than 2 sentences. In addition please fill out the table below. This includes financial impact to the current fiscal year and subsequent fiscal years along with the source of funding (general fund, grant, etc.). If the amount is within the current budget, please indicate the amount from ‘Existing Department Budget'. If all of or part of the request is a new expense, please indicate funding source in the space provided.]
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Fiscal Summary |
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Expenditures |
FY 20-21 |
FY 21-22 Projected |
Future Years Projected [3 additional years] |
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Service Impacted: [Please provide service or division where expenditure will be used]* |
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283, Veteran Services Department |
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Existing Budget |
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0 |
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Additional Appropriation Requested |
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0 |
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Total Expenditures |
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0 |
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Funding Sources |
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Existing Department Budget |
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$300,000 |
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Please Identify Funding Source (General Fund, PIC, Special Revenue, Grant, Etc.) |
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2602 |
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[INSERT FUNDING SOURCE HERE]* |
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TVC Grant |
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Total Sources |
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$300,000 |
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Alternatives:
[INSTRUCTIONS: In this section you should briefly discuss any viable alternatives, including the benefits and consequences of each. Include subtitles on the first line of each alternative to identify it. If appropriate, the financial impact of each alternative can be discussed. If taking no action is a viable alternative it should also be discussed, including any financial or other impacts that would result.]
Alignment with Strategic Objective:
The TVC Grant is a state funded grant that provides assistance to Texas Veterans and their families in various ways. Harris County has received this grant for the past 7 years to assist Veterans with short-term financial assistance relating to rental and utility assistance. This affords the Veteran Services Department (VSD) the opportunity to reach beyond Veteran benefits and help Veterans in other realms of issues that may arise in day-to-day life. VSD estimates the ability to directly assist 110-140 Veterans and families with the funds from the TVC Grant.
[INSTRUCTIONS: Please write out the Department Strategic Objective impacted by this item.]
Attachments:
[INSTRUCTIONS: Please include a list of backup for this item with a short description of each if more than one.]